Expert calls for safety review at Scotland's troubled superhospital

A risk assessment should be carried out on Glasgow's entire Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus, a leading safety expert has told BBC Scotland News.

Andrew Poplett, who conducted safety reviews for the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, said it was "incredibly difficult" to say whether the hospital was safe or unsafe for all patients.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has admitted there were failings with the hospital when it opened and now accepts that some patient infections were probably linked to contaminated water.

The board has said the whole hospital is now safe but families and lawyers for the public inquiry say they want to see further evidence to back this up.

The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry was ordered in 2019 after a number of deaths and high levels of infection at the QEUH campus, which had opened just four years earlier.

The inquiry drew to a close in January and Lord Brodie's final report is expected later this year.

Engineer Andrew Poplett was the independent expert who wrote reports on water and ventilation, external for the inquiry.

First Minister John Swinney and the health board have said Poplett's evidence supported the claim that both the QEUH and the Royal Hospital for Children, on the same site, were now safe.

But in an exclusive interview with BBC Scotland News, Poplett said it was "incredibly difficult to give a black and white 'safe or unsafe' answer".

He said this was because of the complexity of assessing risk when caring for vulnerable patients.

Popplett said: "If you want to reassure the public that this building is safe, do a risk assessment.

"You don't need to wait for a final report from the public inquiry."

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Source: BBC News, 12 May 2026